Glossy Black Button Icons

Step #1

Step #2

Then create a new color fill layer by going to LAYER >> NEW FILL LAYER >> COLOR in the menu and choose the value #000000 as shown below.

Step #3

To add some lighting to the background first rasterize the color fill layer you just created by right clicking on the layer and choosing RASTERIZE LAYER . Then add the by going to FILTER >> RENDER >> LIGHTING EFFECTS in the menu and entering the settings below.

Step #4

Now lets create the circular base of the icon. To do this activate the shape tool by pressing U. Make sure the circle tool is selected then draw out a circle similar to the one shown below.

TIP “Hold the shift key down while dragging to maintain the correct proportions and hold down spacebar to reposition”

Step #5

Activate the layer styles pallet by going to LAYER >> LAYER STYLE >> BLENDING OPTIONS in the menu. Then enter the settings below.

Step #6

To create the shadow that helps give these icons their 3D look first create a new layer beneath the square layer you just created. Activate the brush tool by typeing B. Choose a simple round brush, set the opacity to 50%, the size to 25, and the sharpness to 0, then paint in a rough shadow around the base of the icon as seen below.

Step #7

To clean up the shadow first apply a motion blur filter by going to FILTER >> BLUR >> MOTION BLUR in the menu and entering the settings below.

Step #8

To clean up the shadow further apply a gaussian blur filter by going to FILTER >> BLUR >> GAUSSIAN BLUR in the menu and entering the settings below.

STEP #9

Now above the square layer create a new layer by going to LAYER >> NEW >> LAYER in the menu. Activate the shape tool by typeing U. Make sure the custom shape tool is selected then choose the built in check mark shape and drag out a shape similar to the one below.

TIP “Hold the shift key down while dragging to maintain the correct proportions and hold down spacebar to reposition”

Step #10

Activate the layer styles pallet on the checkmark layer you just created and enter the settings below.

I like the tutorial..but there is so much left out. Like how to create the contours and were to get the style used in the tutorial. The button doesn’t come out right without these. Spend hours seaching for the style on the web and info on creating coutours. I gave up. Thanks anyway.

Thank you for the tutorial, the pictures make it so much easier to learn how to do something than just the standard help documents in the software. Did you ever do an update to this tutorial to include the additional information?

What an excellent tutorial. For me at least. Although I’ve created a number of webpages at Squidoo and have some websites as well, all my work have been very simple since I’m very inexperienced at “special effects” etc. I will use this tutorial to build my own and use that where possible. Looking forward to another tutorial from you!